SAVE FOR LATER
Your child may be starting school very soon and there are plenty of ways you can manage this transition. Children love to learn and are kind of like sponges for information, they will thrive in the home environment and at school. Take a look at the article below to find out how you can best prepare your child for success at school.
Read Every Night
Children love reading and it can be encouraged from such a young age. Children will often mimic and copy what they see their trusted adults doing. So if you are sitting down enjoying a book then they will see this as a positive behavior. Reading with your child will also get their learning started from a young age, ready for when they start school around the age of four. The greatest thing about reading with your children is that they will start to see and recognise common sight words. These are words that are in most children’s books and easy to learn from the start. Check out sight word teaching activities if you would like to take this learning with your child one step further.
Teach Them Right From Wrong
Every child needs to learn right from wrong and it starts from when they are babies. When your little one is starting to crawl around and put things in their mouth that they shouldn’t, you say no. That is the very start of this long and arduous journey of teaching your children what is right and what is wrong. Everyone will need to learn this so they become adults who respect adults and the world. If you let your children get away with stuff, even the tiny things, then they can take this for granted and not behave when you need them to. While it can sometimes feel like you are constantly saying no to your children, you also need to remember to praise them.
Join Classes Early
If you are wanting your child to learn different things like swimming then this is best done from an early age. If they get used to the water and being safe while in it then they will do a lot better at listening to the instructor as they age. Some classes will have a long waiting list so if you want them to start as soon as possible then you need to get them on the list. Joining classes like this can teach your child vital life skills that could be used to save their own life or a friend’s life one day.
Try Different Sports And Activities
Children love to get involved, be outdoors, and run around. If there are any sports that you want your child to try then sign them up for a taster session. This will give you and them an idea of whether they are going to want to carry on and most important of all, enjoy it. The last thing you want is your child to do something they don’t want to do as you may struggle to get them out of the house. If your child is old enough to express an interest in doing a certain sport then make sure you listen to them. Hear them out even if it isn’t something you want them doing, like MMA for instance.
Sign Them Up For Nursery
One of the best things for children is to interact with children their own age, and potentially grow up with them. A great way to do this is by sending them to some form of childcare, this could be a childminder or nursery. There are pros and cons to each of these options and it is always down to parental preference. However, for children that love being social and engaging with other children then a nursery will be best. For children who are a little more nervous and reserved, think about a childminder who can offer them a more personal one on one experience. There may be a significant waiting list for a good nursery, so make sure you enquire and get their name down early.
Encourage Social Play
Social play is so important for children, this teaches them the basics of making and keeping friendships. Children will go through several stages of play, when they are babies they will do solo play. This means they won’t engage with anyone or play alongside other children. When they get to become toddlers they will parallel play, this means playing alongside other children but not playing together. As children age they learn the basics of making friends and following rules when playing games with them. If you want to encourage social play then you could arrange playdates with your friends and other children.
Face Your Fears
It is important that as a parent you face your fears and show your children that facing your fears is okay. When children see you taking risks and facing fears, they won’t associate fears with feeling scared. Risk taking is a normal part of growing up and if you don’t do this then your children will never learn. You should encourage your children to manage their risk taking, this sort of thing starts in the home when they are little. If they are climbing on the sofa then this is managed risk taking. While you should be there to catch them should they fall, you don’t want to constantly hover. A hovering parent is known as a helicopter parent and your child won’t know how to take risks. This in turn could turn out far more dangerous as they age as they won’t be able to spot hidden dangers.
Films & TV, Games
Finally, think about what films and tv shows you are exposing them to. While you are the only person, as their parent, who can control this, you need to think and plan carefully. If you have young children and you enjoy watching adult shows during the day then be aware they are completely receptive and can take in everything they see and hear. If you are watching shows with adult content and swear words then they are likely to repeat this. However, there are child shows out there and believe it or not they won’t all drive you insane.
Check out streaming sites for child friendly shows, some of these will teach nursery rhymes and all the things they need to know for school or kindergarten.
We hope you found this article helpful and it gave you some ideas on how you can prepare your child for school. It is much better to have prepared them for this as you don’t want them going into it thinking that they play all the time. They will have to actively sit down and listen to what their teacher is saying some of the time.